Skeldr hefted his weapons with a whining of servos. He was not quite nervous, as the Ironkin rarely experienced an extreme emotion such as that, but he was slightly apprehensive. This was his first solo command after all. The High Kahl, Trokk the Denier, had accepted the Steeljack Elder's proposal for an expedition. Trokk would fund the expedition and even lend his sword in battle, but Skeldr would lead it and take all responsibility for the success or failure on his own.

The tall Steeljack strode among the ruins. The Imperium's Space Marines, Blood Angels he was informed by their heraldry, were here as well. Two scouting forces looking for valuable resources and technology. The Kin often worked with the Imperium, hiring themselves out as mercenary warbands or for exploratory mining ventures, but not here. Here they were the enemy and Skeldr would destroy them as needed.

Solbond Gardhird versus the Blood Angels
Mission - Empty the Vaults
Votann win the battle, 60-35(Votann were Attacker, went 1st). Complete Assassination Agenda x 5, complete Prospecting Agenda x 2. 
Gain the following Resources - 20 Biomass from Victory, 20 Raw Minerals from Prospecting Agenda

Spend 2 RP for Supply Limit increase Requisition (to 1400 points), spend 1 RP for Red-Handed Harvest Requistion (roll 8 total d6 for enemies destroyed, rolled 3 5+ results to give 30 Galactic Intel Resources)

Sondur-Oath Wardens suffers a Battle Scar, Battle-Weary (-1 to Battle-Shock, Ld, Desperate Escape, or Out of Action tests)
Oath-Runner 1 suffers a Battle Scar, Battle-Weary (-1 to Battle-Shock, Ld, Desperate Escape, or Out of Action tests)

Units upgraded
[Steeljack Elder] Skeldr Jarnvardr (Marked for Greatness) gains Battle Trait Dour Survivalist (Character model gains 5+ FNP and re-rolls OoA tests)
The Sol-Hammer Hearthguard gain Battle Trait Ancestral Fury (unit gains Sustained 1 for melee weapons)
[Memnyr Strategist] Varrik of Ruunes gains 1 Artificer Relic (Victory reward) Grey Crest (bearer's unit gains Stealth)

Units added
Sonder-Oath Linebreakers - 6man Ironkin Steeljacks w/ melee weapons
The Sturm-Bon - 3man Brohkyr Thunderkyn w/conversion
Chisel-Point 2 and Chisel-Point 3 - 2x 1man Kapricus Defender squads

Overall-
Victory - Solbond Gardhird
Resources - 20 Biomass, 20 Raw Minerals, 30 Galactic Intel
RP - gain 1, spend 3. Total is 2 (4 + 1 - 3)
Supply limit - 1400 (using 1375)
Crusade points - Goes from 1 to 2 (1 + 3 -2)

Mission - Empty the Vaults

     Scoring is at the end of the battle round - 5 VP for holding 1 objective, 5 VP for holding 2+ objectives, 10 VP for holding more than your opponent. Randomly at the beginning of round 2 an objective is removed from the battlefield.

Agendas - Assassinate, Prospecting

Enemy army - Crucible Champion on a bike with 3 Outriders, 5man Death Company w/Chaplain in an Impulsor, 5man Assault Intercessors w/Captain and Sanguinary Priest in Impulsor, 2x Assault Intercessors with Jumppacks (one with a thunderhammer/shield Captain)

Round 1 

* Apologies to those in the UK, these images are too big for the B&C so have to be hosted through imgur *

Votann turn - Votann move fast, deploying Trokk's squad on objective 5 (upper right) and the Steeljacks onto objective 3 (middle right), while the Steeljack Elder holds onto objective one. Shooting is minimal, with the nothing really getting damaged. In Reserve are the Hearthguard

Blood Angels turn - Assault Intercessors jump out of their transport to take objective 2 (lower left) while their Impulsor grabs 4 (middle left). Death Company Impulsor moves to objective 6 (upper left). Outriders sneak around a ruin to stay in cover. Death Company Impulsor manages to kill off one of Trokk's squad. In Reserve are both jumppack Assault Intercessor squads, Pioneers remove themselves from the field. Score ties at 10 each.

Round 2

Votann turn -Objective 5 is removed, starting a chain reaction of losing objectives that the Votann are on/planning to take.... Trokk's unit jumps back into their Sagitaur, move towards objective 3. Regular Hearthkyn dude squad in their Sagitaur move from objective 3 to 4 and jump out. Pioneers and Hearthguard stay in reserve. Shooting takes out the empty Impulsor on 4 and slightly wounds the DC Impulsor and the disembarked Assault squad (pic doesn't show them, they are on the very edge of objective 2 out of frame). 

Blood Angels turn - Melee ahoy! DC deploy from their Impulsor, while both JP Assault Intercessor squads drop down- the Captain lead one close to the Steeljack squad, the regular one 9" away from the Steeljack elder near objective 1. Bikes move up to objective 4 to take, while the regular Assault Intercessor squad moves through the green building to threaten the Steeljacks as well. Hearthguard Rapid Ingress behind the now-empty Impulsor sitting on objective 6. Steeljacks overwatch the regular Intercessors and Reactive Reprisal both Captain-led squads, managing to kill a few Assault Intercessors of various kinds before the melee hammer wipes them out. Shooting/melee from the bikes kills off both the regular Warrior squad and their Sagitaur, but the DC fail their charge to tie-up/kill off Trokk's ride and the regular JP Assault Intercessors fail to charge the Steeljack elder. Score swings to the BA, as they gain 20VP to the Votann 5.

Round 3

Votann turn - Objective 2 is removed, taking away an objective that the Pioneers would have loved to drop onto. Anyway. Trokk and his squad get out onto objective 3, the Pioneers deploy near the Steeljack elder to assist with the JP Assault Intercessors down there. Shooting is decent, with damage going into both the center Captain squads, removing all their regular marines and hurting the JP Captain. Hearthguard shooting kills off a DC member, while the Pioneers and Steeljack elder kill off a couple of JP Assault Intercessors. Charging in, the Sagitaur Tank Shocks the JP Captain to 1 Wound, while Trokk and his squad kill off the regular Captain but fail to finish off the Priest. Skeldr the elder and the Pioneers kill off all but the JP Assault Intercessor sergeant, leaving him on 1 wound. The Hearthguard smash up the empty Impulsor on objective 6. 

Blood Angels turn - Despite the pummeling, the BA fight back and kill off the Kapricus, Sagitaur, and most of Trokk's squad in a swirl of melee and shooting while moving towards objective 3 with the bikes and DC. Again the DC fail a charge, making their only contribution to the battle a grenade strat that near-killed the Kapricus and let the bikes finish it off with bolt rifles. While the Sagitaur dies to the JP Captain, Trokk does solid work and kills off two bikes himself. The lone JP sergeant on objective 1 fell back but was BattleShocked so didn't steal objective 1 away, leaving both armies to only have one objective each and gaining 5VP. Pioneers jump back into Reserves.

Round 4

Votann turn - Objective 6 gets removed, Hearthguard now have to move! With only Trokk in the center, this is a very sketchy place to be. Hearthguard move to help out, getting close to the DC squad. Pioneers drop behind the Hearthguard to help out shooting. Hearthguard/Pioneer shooting kills off the DC squad, and a follow-up Hearthguard charge takes out the lone Chaplain who had led them and puts the Hearthguard onto objective 4. Trokk kills the JP Captain in the center by shooting him, while the Skeldr kills off the Priest with his volkanite disintegrator. Both charge, with Trokk killing the last bike but not managing to do enough damage to down the Bike Captain, and Skaldr smashing the JP sergeant on objective 1. 

Blood Angels turn - Only the Bike Captain is left, but neither he nor Trokk kill each other off by the end of the round. Votann gain 20VP, BA 0. Pioneers in Reserve.

Round 5

Votann turn - Surprise, surprise, objective 4 gets removed. Hearthguard once again trudge towards another objective to try to do something. Trokk falls back, allowing the Hearthguard to blast the Bike Captain to oblivion, while the Pioneers and Skaldr deploy/move to be wholly within 9" of a battlefield edge to complete the Prospecting Agenda.

Blood Angels turn - Votann score 20VP, game ends. 

Thoughts

Totally wild game. I really thought that I was doomed when turn 2 was such a bloodbath on my end. What really helped out was the Fortify -1 to Wound buff versus stronger S than T attacks that went into effect turn 3; without that negating/limiting the remaining melee of the BA I don't think I would have survived. Overall the game played pretty much how I planned, which was to hopefully weather the massive melee turn of the BA and do enough damage to chip away at their units. The Death Company pretty much being a non-entity really helped me, as even with their re-rolls to charge they failed twice to get into a melee battle that would have killed off or tied up Trokk's squad/Sagitaur. Very, very lucky on those rolls I was.

As for the future, I'll have Skeldr getting his melee boys for week 3 which ups the points to 1250, while also putting in a second Kapricus for more annoyance value. The various upgrades will be helpful- Skeldr will die less with a 5+ FNP (he was on 1 Wound at the end), while the shooty Steeljacks absolutely need Stealth because of their priority target status. The Sustained 1s for the Hearthguard is ok, but I've found that they are pretty much better in shooting than melee, so its more of a nice bonus that something I will count on.

Anyway, looking forward to week 2! On the modeling front, I have Skeldr (plus two Steeljack mates) and the AoS copywright/count-as Arkanist Evaluator in the mail, so hopefully they'll show up within a few days. Thanks for looking!